Pick your favorite state park

By Tom Watts, For Digital First Media

Friday, July 26, 2013

What is your favorite park?For some of us, Lake St. Clair Metropark in Harrison Township, Stony Creek Metropark in Washington Township or Pontiac Lake Recreation Area reign superior, but for others its places like Isle Royale on Lake Superior in the Upper Peninsula or Sleeping Bear Dunes on Michigan’s west coast on Lake Michigan.

Whatever your favorite park, now is the opportunity to earn it some money to improve on what already is great.

Coca-Cola is making the contest fun with a friendly competition amongst parks and an opportunity to earn up to a $100,000 grant for recreation improvements.

“Michigan State Parks developed the Fresh Air Fit series to get people outside and into parks for their daily workouts this summer,” said Maia Stephens, recreation programmer for the Michigan Department of Natural Resources. “The format of the grant competition supports that campaign by encouraging people to get outside, be active and, hopefully, to vote often for their favorite state park.”

Voting can be done in three ways:

Vote once a day at www.coke.com/parks. Check in at a park using Foursquare, a location-based social networking website for mobile devices, and get up to 5 votes every day.

Log more than 20 minutes of physical activity through the MapMyFitness app for mobile devices, and get up to 10 votes every day.

The park with the most votes will win a $100,000 recreation grant from Coca-Cola and the title of “America’s Favorite Park.”

Second- and third-place parks will win $50,000 and $25,000 grants respectively. Another $15,000 grant will be awarded at random to a lucky park that comes in 4th to 25th on the leader board.

The DNR is promoting the contest on Facebook and encourages fans to be active, vote often, and share with friends and family.

What is your favorite park?For more information, visit www.michigan.gov/stateparks.